Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television (McFarland Publishers, $35.00) is David C. Tucker's look at thirty different sitcoms of the first two decades on television that have, for whatever reason, become "lost." And when they say lost, they really do mean lost. We all remember some of the biggest hits of those decades, such as I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, Leave it to Beaver, Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, and many others. But does anybody truly remember, for example Hennesey or Pete and Gladys, or for that matter, even heard of them? Tucker gives us all of the details of thirty sitcoms that shaped and molded the genre, then completely disappeared, mostly to never be seen again.

Read our review by skees53 here:
http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2010/05/memorial-day-2010-tv-marathons-blog.html

Purchase the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786444665/ref=nosim/happydaysonline3-20

I've heard of many of these shows (mostly from them being referenced in other books)but have only seen one of them. I watched an episode of "He's Dickens, I'm Fenster" on youtube. This sounds like a fascinating book and definitely one I'd love to read!

Sounds like an interesting read. I may consider buying it.

Yeah I have heard and even seen some of those shows listed. The book is probably a good read. Those are shows you probably wont see on TV.

Funny but I have all of them. I have the complete or almost complete runs of:

Angel, How to Marry a Millionaire, It's About Time, Hey Jeannie, Mrs G Goes to College, Bill Dana Show, Wendy and Me, Mr. Terrific, OK Crackerby, Hey Mulligan, Occasional Wife and Margie.

I have at least 10 or more episodes of The Ray Milland Show, Love on a Rooftop, Its a Great Life, Governor and JJ, The Tom Ewell Show, Pete and Gladys, Hennesey, McKeever and the Colonel and I'm Dickens, He's Fenster.

The only ones that I have less than 10 of, are Grindl, The Great Gildersleeve, Happy, Ichabod and Me, The Jim Backus Show and My Hero. And with most of those, its by choice as they aren't very good shows. The only real rarity that he lists among his shows, is Mr. Adams and Eve.

As for lost, well, Hey Jeannie, Mrs G, McKeever and all of the Four Star shows ran in England a few years ago. Hennesey and Dickens/Fenster ran on the Star Network in the early 90s. People's Choice ran on the Nostalgia Channel. It's a Great Life has run to death on the same network. Occasional Wife ran on HA! Bill Dana and Wendy and Me ran on CBN and Wendy ran on Nostalgia as well. Mr. Terrific is out on DVD in Germany. Some of the others have been common on film. I bought about a dozen Governor and JJs on 16mm around 1982. Lost, no, maybe just not widely available.

This would be a fun book to read. That's a cute picture of Barbara Eden wearing glasses on the cover. It's too bad that TV Land is too busy showing reality shows. They could show some of these rare gems. Or maybe somebody could put them on DVD.

Where is "The Life Of Riley" starring William Bendix

Where is "The Life Of Riley" starring William Bendix


Buried in Fox's vaults.

Mr. Terrific but no Captain Nice?

Yes, CN ran in syndication briefly, but, as bencasey pointed out, that would hardly make it unique in this company.

Disappointing. Well written and pretty well researched and, yet, disappointing.

Let's be honest. I bought this book (or, rather, asked my wife to get it for me as a birthday present) for one reason only: What other book on TV history has devoted this kind of space and attention to Mr. Terrific? - (At this point, I have only read the book's intro and the MT chapter.)

I love this show. I have very little objectivity where it is concerned. I am able to watch the episodes and (for the most part) ignore what is bad about them and simply enjoy the aspects that I do enjoy.

David C. Tucker seemed to watch the show wearing a pair of reverse blinders. He acknowledges the talent of the people involved but can't seem to see anything enjoyable about the series itself, calling it an almost complete creative misfire. He glosses over the fact that the show's ratings dipped without really going into particulars, giving the reader the impression that Mr. Terrific simply fell to an embarrassing level in the Nielsens.

As I understand it, the truth is that Mr. Terrific's killer time slot never really allowed the ratings to fall below a certain level, and MT's Nielsen position would have, at worst, been a head scratcher for executives looking at most shows. (The same is true of Run, Buddy, Run. That's the show that Terrific replaced and Tucker similarly dismisses.)

Tucker seems to be somewhat intimate with at least some of the episodes. As far as I know, this is only possible due to the fact that the series has found its way into the collector's market. And this is due to the fact that the series is remarkably popular in Germany. Even in the last decade it has garnered new fans over there. Since this is, apparently, a primary source of Tucker's research, I find not mentioning this to be a glaring omission.

Is it that he can't find, or simply chooses to ignore, anything to recommend the show?

Still, Tucker and I are allowed to disagree. In his position, as it happens, his opinions will be read with a greater tinge of prestige. Well, that's just the way things are.

But, in Tucker's introduction, he asserts that his purpose is not to "jeer" at the shows he profiles. He has inserted "a little critical commentary here and there," but he didn't intend to "overburden" the book with his own opinions:

"I'll let readers judge for themselves."

If that was his intent, then the "Mr. Terrific" chapter marks this book a distinct failure.

....most people don't know "MR. TERRIFIC" had the disadvantage of appearing directly opposite "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" on NBC and '"THE IRON HORSE" on ABC- each of which had its own loyal following, yet both moved to different nights the following fall- and there simply wasn't enough of an audience to keep "TERRIFIC" on the air as far as CBS was concerned [just because a series were scheduled inbetween "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND" and "THE LUCY SHOW" in 1966-'67 didn't automatically guarantee it would be a success, too].

Still, you should be thankful Tucker reviewed the series as he did, 'sbeamish'. I'm sure you've read Rick Mitz's take on it in "The Great TV Sitcom Book": he virtually dismissed it in just a few paragraphs, and probably didn't even bother to see one episode, preferring to "crib" information about the show from Vince Terrace's and Brooks & Marsh's reference books. He wasn't even aware of {and never even mentioned} the original Alan Young pilot...did Tucker?


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Yes, in fact, though Tucker certainly seems to have watched the Stephen Strimpell version, he talks about the Alan Young pilot in far greater detail than he gives any Strimpell episode. And he repeats the oft quoted lament that the original premise for Mr. Terrific held far more promise than the actual aired series.

But that too is opinion. And I didn't set Tucker's ground rules. He did.

So, no, I'm not happy. I WAS happy, when I saw Mr. Terrific was chosen to be profiled in this book. Now I wish Tucker had focused on Captain Nice or, better yet, completely ignored the super-hero sitcoms and expanded on his unfounded rant against Run, Buddy, Run. (I loved that show, when I was a kid, but I have no special affection for it now.)

If Tucker had just said the show was bad while discussing the episodes in greater detail, I would have grumbled but not have been surprised. But here he lends credence to the old "Nielsen flop" theory.

Stephen Strimpell, who was not exactly thrilled to be working on this series, said the CBS execs had it in for the show almost from the beginning. But I take that with a grain of salt as well. (Even though it is well known that they hated being associated with their HIT Gilligan's Island.)

The clearest picture as to why Mr. Terrific was cancelled can probably be garnered by looking at the Spotlight posted on the TVobscurities website.

There, the NY Times is cited; calling Mr. Terrific "one of the more successful mid season programs." The Times conclusion is that CBS felt the show had "reached its peak audience with children" and was "not likely to pick up steam."

Arnold Becker, Director of Audience Measurement for CBS, is quoted as saying, "everyone knows they want Lucy back. Everyone knows the shows at the bottom of the ratings are going off. It's the marginal shows - the Mr. Terrifics of the world - we quibble about."

There's none of this in Tucker's book. Only the same old fandom theories: "Nielsen flop," "Nice funnier," "Young good. Strimpell bad."

Personally, I don't really agree with any of them. The jokes on Captain Nice are constructed better, but they're still just the poor cousins of the jokes on Get Smart. And Alan Young (an actor who could not exactly be classified as "limited" in his range) gives us a Stanley H. Beamish who is virtually indistinguishable from Wilbur Post. And whether or not the Young premise held more promise will always just be opinion.

And what about Mr. Terrific's cult status in Germany?

Would it have killed Tucker to mention that one of the shows in his book is popular somewhere? Or would it just have killed him to say it about this show?

I was thinking about getting this book. Now, I'm having second thoughts. Does he just slam these shows or actually give some insight into them? I'm interested in what is in the book about Imogene Coca and "Grindl"?

I've only read the Mr. Terrific and I'm Dickens, He's Fenster chapters. (Also pretty much read through The People's Choice and part of Occassional Wife.)

He only really slams Mr. Terrific of these 4. He's fairly objective with the others and seems to almost go out of his way to shed a slightly more favorable light on Dickens/Fenster.

If I get a chance, I'll take a look at Grindl and let you know.

Just read the Grindl chapter. I'm not sure if I ever saw this show; have no conscious recollection of it. Naturally, I'm not approaching this part of the text in the same way as I did Mr. Terrific: a show with which I am very familiar.

Seems to be a much, MUCH more balanced profile. Tucker doesn't fawn over the series, but he sure doesn't slam it either. Pretty much only positive reviews are quoted. (Of course, positive reviews of MT were very few and far between.) And Tucker gives equal time to indications that ratings for Grindl were faltering and those that implied the audience was still strong. (No such fairness for MT.)

No room for much depth, since the chapter's only 6 pages long. A lot of focus on Imogene's career. Still some interesting facts about the show: originally a pilot starring Mary Grace Canfield (Ralph Monroe from Green Acres).

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to contact Tucker. He apologized for inadvertently trampling on a show that had meaning for me. Then he referenced the article that pointed to MT as a ratings failure. But he never explained why he disregarded information like the quote from CBS Director of Audience Measurement Arnold Becker. He comes right out and says the cancellation of Grindl was a point of contention; again, no such fairness for MT.

In the book, he makes a point of mentioning that I'm Dickens, He's Fenster still has many loyal fans. No mention of the many fans that MT has in Germany: so many that the show actually has a DVD release. And this DVD was also lapped up by a lot of American old timers like me.

I guess I wouldn't go so far as to recommend you don't buy this book, unless you're a fan of Mr. Terrific.

Thanks for the info sbeamish. I have only heard about Mr. Terrific in passing so I'm not very familiar with the series. As for Grindl, I sure hope episodes aren't lost because it was a hysterical series from the few episodes I saw. Not a bad one in the bunch. Imogene Coca was charming and hilarious. Would love to see a dvd release for this show, any way I can get it. :)

...had more to do with the sponsor, Procter & Gamble, than the actual ratings (even though CBS' "ED SULLIVAN SHOW", opposite "GRINDL" on Sundays, was #1 in its time period...especially when The Beatles made their first two appearances during February 1964). P&G "controlled" the 8:30-9pm(et) Sunday time period on NBC, followng "WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR", from 1961 through 1972; they had the final say on what programs would fill that half-hour. After they dropped "CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?" in 1963, P&G replaced it with "GRINDL", a David Swift production for Screen Gems/Columbia (he previously created Wally Cox's "MR. PEEPERS" for NBC in the '50s). Apparently, they weren't satisfied with the show's ratings [and the series obviously wasn't helping them sell their various products, including "Thrill" dishwashing liquid], so P&G moved "THE BILL DANA SHOW", which they sponsored at 7pm(et), just before the Disney hour that season, into "GRINDL"'s time slot in the fall of '64...only to replace Dana's "Jose Jiminez" in January 1965 with "BRANDED"....which managed to last two seasons before it was replaced by "HEY, LANDLORD!" in '66.....but that's another story!

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....she originated the role of "Grindl" in an unsold David Swift pilot, "Poor Mr. Campbell", which was intended to be a series for CBS 1962-'63 season, airing on "THE COMEDY SPOT" in June 1962 [Edward Andrews as a henpecked married man, with Agnes Moorehead as his wife, and Mary Grace Canfield as "Grindl", the maid]. Swift then decided to build a series around "Grindl", changed her background {as a perpetual "temp" who gets more than involved in just about everything she's assigned to do} and cast Imogene Coca in the role...

:tv:

...had more to do with the sponsor, Procter & Gamble, than the actual ratings (even though CBS' "ED SULLIVAN SHOW", opposite "GRINDL" on Sundays, was #1 in its time period...especially when The Beatles made their first two appearances during February 1964). P&G "controlled" the 8:30-9pm(et) Sunday time period on NBC, followng "WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR", from 1961 through 1972; they had the final say on what programs would fill that half-hour. After they dropped "CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?" in 1963, P&G replaced it with "GRINDL", a David Swift production for Screen Gems/Columbia (he previously created Wally Cox's "MR. PEEPERS" for NBC in the '50s). Apparently, they weren't satisfied with the show's ratings [and the series obviously wasn't helping them sell their various products, including "Thrill" dishwashing liquid], so P&G moved "THE BILL DANA SHOW", which they sponsored at 7pm(et), just before the Disney hour that season, into "GRINDL"'s time slot in the fall of '64...only to replace Dana's "Jose Jiminez" in January 1965 with "BRANDED"....which managed to last two seasons before it was replaced by "HEY, LANDLORD!" in '66.....but that's another story!

:tv:

"Hey, Landlord" was later followed by "The Mothers-in-Law". We had a nice discussion about this NBC timeslot and its problems for both the network & sponsor over an 11-year period on that show's board awhile back. I'd love to see www.tvparty.com do a writeup on the shows in this timeslot, as they would be fun to look back on now.
I've looked for "Grindl" on You Tube and have yet to find any video clips of the shows, though I did find still pictures on IMDB. It would be fun to see the opening credits at least, and maybe (if they exist) cast commercials from it, or at least commercial bumpers.

"Hey, Landlord" was later followed by "The Mothers-in-Law". We had a nice discussion about this NBC timeslot and its problems for both the network & sponsor over an 11-year period on that show's board awhile back. I'd love to see www.tvparty.com do a writeup on the shows in this timeslot, as they would be fun to look back on now.
I've looked for "Grindl" on You Tube and have yet to find any video clips of the shows, though I did find still pictures on IMDB. It would be fun to see the opening credits at least, and maybe (if they exist) cast commercials from it, or at least commercial bumpers.

I just found an ep of Grindl online, including P&G sponsor bumpers for Gleem Toothpaste & Thrill Dishwashing Liquid:

http://connect.tv/video/Grindl-Numerology-Imogene-Coca

I recognized Jerome Cowan, who'd played DA Thomas Mara in the original Miracle on 34th St., in this ep, because I'd seen him recently on a Season 1 ep of The Mothers-in-Law on my DVD set from that series. Jack Mullaney, who played Cowan's character's son-in-law here, co-starred with Imogene Coca in It's About Time 3 seasons later.

This looks very much like a Screen Gems series, even having closing credits in the same font that SG series Dennis the Menace used. Grindl creator David Swift 2 years later created Camp Runamuck, which did even worse in the ratings on NBC than My Mother the Car did. He did commentary along with Hayley Mills on one of my favorite Disney movies, The Parent Trap, which he wrote & directed, shortly before he died at the end of 2001.

Thanks for the link! it was great to see at last an episode of Grindl.

We all have our favorites but having never seen Mr. Terrific or Grindl as a kid but only as an adult, I find both to be awful. A show I did watch and liked as an 8 year old was Camp Runamuck but when I saw it again as an adult I found it horrible. Same with Baileys of Balboa. I liked it at 7 but at 27, not so much.

Just curious, but what is his criteria for inclusion in the book? Because certainly shows like The People's Choice had pretty good syndication, running well into the 80s and even having national exposure on The Nostalgia Channel.

"Grindl, She-Wolf Of Wall Street", originally telecast on September 29, 1963, although I suspect it's a spring '64 repeat no commercials, dammit!].

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"Grindl, She-Wolf Of Wall Street", originally telecast on September 29, 1963, although I suspect it's a spring '64 repeat no commercials, dammit!].

:tv:

If you were able to sit through a full episode of Grindl, I give you credit. I couldn't do it.

We all have our favorites but having never seen Mr. Terrific or Grindl as a kid but only as an adult, I find both to be awful. A show I did watch and liked as an 8 year old was Camp Runamuck but when I saw it again as an adult I found it horrible. Same with Baileys of Balboa. I liked it at 7 but at 27, not so much.

Just curious, but what is his criteria for inclusion in the book? Because certainly shows like The People's Choice had pretty good syndication, running well into the 80s and even having national exposure on The Nostalgia Channel.

Gee, it's been a while since I looked at the book, but I believe his number one criterion was that the shows are, for all intents and purposes, virtually forgotten by the general public today. (Unlike Lucy or Gilligan or The Beverly Hillbillies which, by varying degrees, remain a part of our collective consciousness.)

Gee, it's been a while since I looked at the book, but I believe his number one criterion was that the shows are, for all intents and purposes, virtually forgotten by the general public today. (Unlike Lucy or Gilligan or The Beverly Hillbillies which, by varying degrees, remain a part of our collective consciousness.)


If that's the criteria, you could basically include almost every sitcom from the 50s and 60s, except for a handful. I don't think you could even name 30 shows from those 2 decades that HAVEN'T been forgotten today.

If that's the criteria, you could basically include almost every sitcom from the 50s and 60s, except for a handful. I don't think you could even name 30 shows from those 2 decades that HAVEN'T been forgotten today.

I don't know anything about the book's sales figures or demographics. Still, as an overview/sampling rather than a detailed history of the phenomenon of forgotten sit-coms, it may have piqued the interest of some casual TV buffs who might not wish to wade through every bit of relevant information. Or, rather than being read cover-to-cover, it can sit waiting on the shelf on the off chance that some bit familiarity with one of the series needs to be demonstrated. (This is the position that the book now fills in my personal library.)

No need to fatten the book or the cover price by including sections on both Mr. Terrific AND Captain Nice.

I've gotta figure that, like the shows themselves, this book is nothing more than a curiosity to the general public. I can't imagine anyone other than die-hards like us having much real interest in the subject at all. But I don't know enough about publishing to really say what the target audience or final objective was.

Some of my favorite shows would be in this category. He and She, Love on a Rooftop, Occasional Wife, Many Happy Returns, Accidental Family, Nancy, The Tycoon, Hank, The Jean Arthur Show, Run Buddy Run, The Good Guys, Governor and JJ, Pistols n Petticoats, Mr. Roberts, No Time For Sergeants, Room for One More, Broadside, Mickey, Wendy and Me, Second Hundred Years are all big favorites of mine. The only shows of that ilk that I really liked but now can't watch as an adult are Its About Time, Baileys of Balboa and Camp Runamuck. I find them all as unwatchable as Gilligan's Island or The Brady Bunch.

For me, it's virtually impossible to discount nostalgia when assessing the entertainment value of these series. Even a quality program like The Dick Van Dyke Show occupies an honored place in my collection, in part, because of the golden memories attached to it.

Honestly, I've got to admit that it's doubtful I would be quite so wild about Mr. Terrific if I were seeing it for the first time as an adult in 2011. But we'll never really know for certain, because the truth is I did see it and love it as an 8-year-old in 1967. And I still, very much, enjoy it now.

There are other shows that aren't as good as I remember (F-Troop, My Favorite Martian, Captain Nice etc., etc.), but I still enjoy revisiting them. Lately, though it's been years, I've had a bit of an urge to pick up some Gilligan DVDs. Heaven knows, even I remember the scripts being pretty contrived and silly. I just really kind of miss those seven characters.

One rare exception to my nostalgia credit factor is Run, Buddy, Run. I absolutely loved it as a kid; almost as much as the show that replaced it: Mr. Terrific. But the 2 episodes I've seen in recent years did absolutely zero for me. I don't hate it. I just have no desire to see it again. (Though I'm sure I would sit through more episodes, if I had them handy.)

I never saw Mr. Terrific when I was a kid. I know it was midseason. What did it air opposite? Obviously something else I was more interested in. Never watched Captain Nice until much later either.

The two problems with Run Buddy Run were that one, it was a one-joke show and a pretty thin premise for a series and two, Jack Sheldon was a terrible actor and a bad choice for a lead. Had they had a better lead, the show could have been better as Bruce Gordon was terrific.

You are right in that nostalgia plays a big part but only if the show isn't awful. I can't watch Camp Runamuck anymore no matter how much I liked it when I was 8.

I'm pretty sure I Dream of Jeannie was on opposite Mr. Terrific. I don't know what was on ABC, though I don't think it was a comedy.

If I wasn't so lazy, I could find out easily enough. I have a copy of almost every TV Guide from the period when Mr. Terrific aired. That's what I've been collecting, since I finally got all of the episodes. (Just recently lucked into the ever elusive, first Star Trek cover TV Guide from 1967. I got it for just 25 bucks, because the eBay seller neglected to put the title "Star Trek" in the description.)

I'm sure I told you about my friend who used to always talk about The Double Life of Henry Phyfe. When I offered to lend him copies of some episodes he refused, because he didn't want an adult perspective to mar his cherished childhood memories.

He was pretty smart, but I've got to say, even though Phyfe is not as great as I remember it, MY cherished memories are pretty much intact.

Terrific replaced Run Buddy Run. I must have switched over to I Dream of Jeannie. Superhero shows have never interested me. I remember I was one of only 3 kids in my third grade class who didn't abandon Lost In Space for Batman when it came on in January of 1966.

"Grindl, She-Wolf Of Wall Street", originally telecast on September 29, 1963, although I suspect it's a spring '64 repeat no commercials, dammit!].

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Funny, I actually loved "Grindl" and wish there were more episodes around. I thought Imogene Coca was a riot in the role.

This is the episode where she gives stock advice while answering phones at a Wall Street office.

The first episode where she goes to work at a magician's home, not knowing he is a magician, is also funny.

"RUN, BUDDY, RUN" appeared opposite NBC's 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" and the second half of ABC's "THE IRON HORSE" (a Western)- both of which, combined, had a bigger audience than "BUDDY". This is why CBS hastily scheduled "MR. TERRIFIC" as its mid-season replacement.

For those who weren't aware of it, "THE DOUBLE LIFE OF HENRY PHYFE" [from the same studio behind "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES", "GREEN ACRES" and "THE ADDAMS FAMILY"] was a Red Buttons vehicle in which he played a "normal" guy who has to pose as a deceased secret agent (who was everything he isn't), while trying to maintain a "normal life" with his job and girlfriend. It lasted 17 episodes in early 1966.

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"RUN, BUDDY, RUN" appeared opposite NBC's 'I DREAM OF JEANNIE" and the second half of ABC's "THE IRON HORSE" (a Western)- both of which, combined, had a bigger audience than "BUDDY". This is why CBS hastily scheduled "MR. TERRIFIC" as its mid-season replacement.

For those who weren't aware of it, "THE DOUBLE LIFE OF HENRY PHYFE" [from the same studio behind "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES", "GREEN ACRES" and "THE ADDAMS FAMILY"] was a Red Buttons vehicle in which he played a "normal" guy who has to pose as a deceased secret agent (who was everything he isn't), while trying to maintain a "normal life" with his job and girlfriend. It lasted 17 episodes in early 1966.

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Actually, the ratings on Run Buddy Run had begun to pick up after a couple of months and CBS had second thoughts about the cancellation. Unfortunately, by the time they wanted to continue with it, all of the sets had been broken down and it wasn't possible to resume production. That's back in the days when a show still stayed on after cancellation to run off all of the filmed episodes. Funny, but I was just reading Cleveland Amory's TV Guide review and he really liked the show a lot and had it listed after Love on a Rooftop as his second favorite new comedy of that year. Of course he also hated He and She so I don't know how much weight he should get for his reviews.

If read carefully, the criteria that Mr. Tucker used for selecting the shows was not shows that were "one season wonders" or outright "bombs". He has selected shows that are now pretty much out of the public eye. "The People's Choice" and "Hennesey" both ran for three seasons and were popular in their day, but are seldom, if ever seen today. Giving an unbiased critique is the privelige of the author. He did not love all the shows I remember him listing either, but taste is certainly a matter of opinion, and I did agree with about ninety per cent of his opinions. My personal favorite of the 30 shows profiled was "Pete and Gladys", which ran for two seasons in prime time and was repeated on the CBS morning schedule for two more years after that. I must agree, however, with Mr. Tucker when he says that "the specter of Lucy is everywhere" in this series. The combination of this, compounded by the fact that Lucy returned to TV the year "Pete and Gladys" was cancelled certainly spelled doom for this series. As for "Captain Nice" and "Mr. Terrific", I recall watching both of these when I was about 14 and hating both of these.

Unpopular short lived shows were called bombs back in the day when they were cancelled, so I find it interesting that now years later after peoples memories have faded, these same shows are now called "lost classics". :lol:

Unpopular short lived shows were called bombs back in the day when they were cancelled, so I find it interesting that now years later after peoples memories have faded, these same shows are now called "lost classics". :lol:


That's why this book really is without much coherency. You could honestly call 2 and 3 season shows like Pete and Gladys, People's Choice and Henessey as lost since they all were syndicated. To put them in the same category as shows like My Living Doll and Grindl which ran one season and have never aired anywhere since makes no sense. He certainly could have filled the book with successful shows that are no longer being seen anywhere. Shows like The Gale Storm Show, Beulah and Life of Riley for instance have not been seen in decades.

That's why this book really is without much coherency. You could honestly call 2 and 3 season shows like Pete and Gladys, People's Choice and Henessey as lost since they all were syndicated. To put them in the same category as shows like My Living Doll and Grindl which ran one season and have never aired anywhere since makes no sense. He certainly could have filled the book with successful shows that are no longer being seen anywhere. Shows like The Gale Storm Show, Beulah and Life of Riley for instance have not been seen in decades.

I remember seeing The Life of Riley on CBN (now ABC Family Channel) back in the mid-to-late 80s and hating it. It was mostly about what an idiot Chester A. Riley was and how much his family members told him he was an idiot but still loved him. (This reminds me of what Bob Newhart said was a type of sitcom he never wanted to do: "Daddy's the dummy but we love him!".) I also briefly saw Blondie on CBN but honestly changed the channel as soon as Dagwood opened his mouth; he was that obnoxious! I did enjoy Hazel on CBN though at about the same time, and I saw The Farmer's Daughter there & thought it was ok too.

That's why this book really is without much coherency. You could honestly call 2 and 3 season shows like Pete and Gladys, People's Choice and Henessey as lost since they all were syndicated. To put them in the same category as shows like My Living Doll and Grindl which ran one season and have never aired anywhere since makes no sense. He certainly could have filled the book with successful shows that are no longer being seen anywhere. Shows like The Gale Storm Show, Beulah and Life of Riley for instance have not been seen in decades.

I put shows into 2 categories, shows that lasted 1 season or less, and shows that lasted 2 seasons or more. Regarding these old TV shows that haven't aired in a long time, I wouldn't mind seeing many of them again, although retro TV stations might be reluctant to air series like these because they want to air shows that people request, shows that still have a following. The longer an old show goes unaired, the more forgotten it becomes and increase the chance stations won't want to air it. Some old shows, especially the shortest lived ones one season or less, might not be available anymore even if a TV station wanted to air it.

Antenna TV is currently airing a few long unseen shows, Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, Circus Boy, and Iron Horse. Hopefully they will add more long unseen shows to their schedule in the future.

Availability is a problem these days. Syndicators used to have 16mm prints of all of their shows and could send them out if a show was sold, even an obscure show. But when stations stopped running shows from off film and only wanted tape, the studios tossed their film prints out. Now, unless tape masters have been struck, its cost prohibitive to go back to the 35s and master to tape. So even though these shows exist, no one will pay the transfer costs and many shows will never see the light of day again. That was the real reason why Antenna TV changed their mind about Farmer's Daughter. Sony couldn't find the 1-inch transfers they struck in the 80s and they aren't getting a high enough price to re-transfer.

Just wondering if a show called "Harry's Girls" got a mention in that book? The 30-minute program, which starred Larry Blyden, was on NBC-TV on Fridays at 9:30 P.M. for the 1963-64 season but was cancelled in early January, 1964.

The reason that I mention this show is not from watching it (as apparently very few did), but because it is the only show I know of that was bashed on the show which followed it. The Jack Paar Program aired from 10:00 - 11:00 P.M. on NBC on Friday nights. In its opening during the fall, the announcer began by saying, "Now...as millions of Americans tune back to NBC...We present The Jack Paar Program". I'm not sure whose idea it was to open with that or how it went over with the network brass, but I've always remembered it.

Here is a list of 30 TRULY LOST sitcoms of the 50s and 60s.

Boss Lady, Don't Call Me Charlie, Willy, Aggie, Halls of Ivy, Sally, The Brothers, Adventures of Hiram Holliday, The Eve Arden Show, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Tycoon, Hank, The Hero, Kentucky Jones, Fair Exchange, Doc Corkle, Norby, The Ed Wynn Show, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, My Favorite Husband, Joe and Mabel, Oh Those Bells, The Cara Williams Show, Baileys of Balboa, Valentine's Day, Make Room for Granddaddy, Father of the Bride, Pride of the Family, Its Always Jan, Where's Raymond?

Unlike the majority of the shows in this book, no more than a couple these can be found anywhere and none have ever rerun since their original airings.

Wow, I havent thought about "It's About Time" in ages. I remember the original plot was two astronauts sent back to prehistoric times. Midway through the season, they changed direction and had the astronauts bring some of the cavemen back to the present time.

It's About Time had a great theme song. Which brings me to "The Pruitts Of Southampton" . The show was okay, but the theme song was a classic.

Lastly, how can they mention "Mr. Terrific", but not "Captain Nice", which followed MT immediately after?

I've heard of many of these shows (mostly from them being referenced in other books)but have only seen one of them. I watched an episode of "He's Dickens, I'm Fenster" on youtube. This sounds like a fascinating book and definitely one I'd love to read!
The book is definitely a good read for any fan of TV who wishes to learn more about rare TV. I'm old enough to remember seeing Angel, Mrs. G. Goes To College, Pete and Gladys, Occaisonal Wife, Love on a Rooftop, and The Governor and J.J. in first-run telecasts. My favorite as a kid was Pete and Gladys, which I scoured the internet for some time about 5 years ago looking for some type of DVD. I lucked out with 18 episodes from a collector who by coincidence lived down the street from me! It's a pity that most people will never see these series as some of them are quite good. I recently saw a couple of episodes of Angel on youtube, and there are a few Love on a Rooftops there as well. I think it's a treat to see some good TV episodes that have not been re-run to death over the years.

It would be nice for example if some oufit like either or both Antenna and Me-TV(or someone else) put at least a few of these programs back on the air.Some of them sound quite good. As already pointed out,a lot of the shows mentioned are available.

It would be nice for example if some oufit like either or both Antenna and Me-TV(or someone else) put at least a few of these programs back on the air.Some of them sound quite good. As already pointed out,a lot of the shows mentioned are available.
A few years ago I e-mailed ME-TV requesting that they show Pete and Gladys and Wonder Woman and I got a response back from them saying that neither series was available for syndication at that time. I can understand why a practically unknown show like Pete and Gladys would not be Paramount's (who holds the rights) big syndication priority, but with a one-time popular rerun like Wonder Woman, I have to assume that there are some rights issues involved. Even the most obscure programs have things like music rights, product placement issues and so forth. Plus Wonder Woman (like Superman and Batman) has it's primary rights controlled by a comic book organization. What I don't understand is the difference between, say, DVD rights and broadcast rights. Wonder Woman is available on DVD but not for broadcast. Batman is available for broadcast but not for DVD. Both formats bring in revenue for the rights holder (through the sale of commercial air time or the sale of DVD discs).

Pete and Gladys is actually a Sony property. It was owned at one point by Embassy, Norman Lear's company and thus it went to Sony when they bought out his company.

Hmmm. The TV on DVD page is where I sourced Paramount as having the rights. But if Sony owns it it has no better a chance of being released as most people have not even heard of this show. My roommate who is one year older than me never heard of or saw it, but enjoyed it when I showed him some episodes from my bootleg DVD set. The show may not have been I Love Lucy, but it still managed to get a few laughs and Cara Williams was very good (she was nominated for an Emmy) in it.